Unexpected (GL) - Chapter 27

Because she often traveled back and forth between the north and south, Xie Jing got sick frequently. Her gear couldn’t keep up with the main team, so she simply quit the game altogether and, for once, focused on studying. Because of the incident with the guy from the broadcast station bringing her milk tea, she quit the broadcast station too.

Now, Xie Jing was basically a free person. Every day, she obediently followed Qin Ning and stayed in the library.

“Qin Ning, do you want to go to graduate school?”

Even though they were only sophomores, many people were already preparing for grad school. For example, their roommate Chen Yuan was always one step ahead.

“Do you want to?” Qin Ning asked Xie Jing in return.

“I’m not good at studying. I won’t get in,” Xie Jing replied honestly, knowing herself well.

Qin Ning said lightly, “Oh, then I won’t apply either.”

Xie Jing widened her eyes in disbelief. “But you clearly want to go to grad school!”

Qin Ning replied, “I don’t.”

Xie Jing said, “I saw your browsing history.”

Qin Ning paused and stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Going to grad school means being apart from you.”

“It would only be a long-distance relationship for a while, not forever.”

“Three years is a long time.” She had already waited three years in high school. Those years were hard. Qin Ning had to bury herself in studying just to get through them. She was afraid she would go
crazy if she had to do it again.

Xie Jing hesitated for two seconds and then said, “Then I’ll apply with you. Which school do you want to go to?”

“Our current school.”

Xie Jing immediately regretted her bold promise. Getting into their school as an undergrad had already been a huge overachievement for her—was she even worthy of applying for their graduate program?
If she donated a building to the school, maybe she could get a guaranteed spot. That might be easier than passing the exam.

But to encourage Qin Ning, Xie Jing could only bite the bullet and nod. “I’ll definitely get into our school’s graduate program with you!”

To keep her promise, Xie Jing picked up her studies again starting in her sophomore year, after slacking off for an entire year. She was actually very smart—just lazy. Now that she was determined to
work hard, and with Qin Ning by her side, and some top students in their group chat helping her out, her studying slowly went from careless to confident.

During this time, Zhou Yan was completely shocked by Xie Jing’s change. This was someone who used to boot up games the second she turned on her computer, but now she had uninstalled all her games
just to focus on studying. She and Qin Ning practically lived in the library, and even on the street she wore headphones to memorize English words, scribbling notes in a small notebook.

Was this really Xie Jing? Had she been possessed? Was love really this powerful? Could it actually make someone fall in love with boring study? Zhou Yan suddenly felt like getting a girlfriend too.

As for why a girlfriend and not a boyfriend—it was because Zhou Yan believed that dating a guy would only drag her down, so she was willing to be the “top” for love.

But where could she find a girlfriend like Qin Ning, who could motivate her to study?

Before, at least someone in the dorm used to slack off with her, so she didn’t feel guilty. But now Chen Yuan, Qin Ning, and Xie Jing were all acting like they’d never seen a textbook before—
completely obsessed with studying. Zhou Yan couldn’t even enjoy her favorite love dramas anymore.

So in the end, she also joined the crowd preparing for grad school.

By junior year, their school arranged internships for students.

Originally, Madam Xie Ruzhuo planned to have Xie Jing intern at her own company. It would’ve been easy—stamp some paperwork and be done with it. But Xie Jing, claiming she wanted to “learn something
real,” didn’t choose her family’s company. Instead, she and Qin Ning went to a big firm together.

They rented an apartment near the company and started living together early.

Qin Ning’s cooking was delicious. Xie Jing washed the dishes. Life was warm and sweet. If the internship didn’t last only a year, Xie Jing would’ve wanted to live like that forever.

“Qin Ning, we’ve been together for almost three years now.”

To Xie Jing, those three years felt like a dream. She had never imagined her college life would be so fulfilling. She used to think she’d spend four years lost in video games, barely graduate, and
then go home to inherit the family business. But now, she had taken a completely different path.

She was interning, preparing for grad school, and living with Qin Ning.

It was an unbelievable turn of events.

Qin Ning asked, “What do you want for our anniversary?”

“I wasn’t asking for a gift. I was just thinking—three years went by so fast. We’ll graduate in one more year.”

“Mm, I know. But I want to give you something.”

Qin Ning also felt that time flew. Being with Xie Jing felt like life was on fast forward—it slipped by before she even noticed.

“Then give me a ring,” Xie Jing said with a smile. “As a return gift, I’ll give myself to you.”

Sure enough, Qin Ning immediately bought a ring. She used up all her internship savings. When she slipped the ring onto Xie Jing’s ring finger, she felt their relationship had entered a new stage.

Qin Ning said, “I love you.”

Xie Jing replied, “I love you too.”

The mood was just right. Qin Ning held Xie Jing’s hand and kissed her. They stumbled onto the couch. A cup on the coffee table got knocked over, but no one cared about such small things at that
moment. Xie Jing wrapped her arms around Qin Ning’s neck, lifting her chin. Qin Ning leaned over her, kissing from her neck down to her collarbone.

“Qin Ning.”

“Hmm?”

“The ring is still on.”

“No need to take it off.”

Xie Jing’s right hand had been pinned to the back of the sofa the whole time, so it didn’t really matter. She couldn’t use it anyway.

“Qin Ning, where did you learn this?”

“I took a biology elective in freshman year.”

“Before we got together?”

“Yeah.”

“You already…?”

Had you already imagined this would happen?

“Preparing in advance.” Qin Ning smiled and added, “Knowledge is always useful.”

Xie Jing nearly fainted. Out of breath, she asked, “You were that sure it wouldn’t be with someone else?”

“?” Qin Ning raised her eyebrows, suddenly curling her fingers tightly together.

“For you, I was very sure.”

Xie Jing: “…”

What did that mean! Was Qin Ning underestimating her?

After a few seconds, Xie Jing twisted her pinned wrist, trying to sit up and bite Qin Ning’s chin. But her waist gave out, and she nearly fell off the couch.

Qin Ning quickly held her leg down. “Sit still.”

Ugh! She was completely powerless under Qin Ning’s control.

While Qin Ning went to wash up, Xie Jing lay there staring blankly. Her body was sore—worse than running 800 meters. She hadn’t expected it to be so exhausting. If she had known, she wouldn’t have
messed around on the sofa. But they were both too eager—didn’t even want to waste time getting to the bedroom.

They had held back for three years. Even though they’d shared a bed every night, Qin Ning had only kissed her and, at most, touched her gently.

“Qin Ning.”

“What is it?” Qin Ning came over and bent down to hold her hand. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. I just feel a bit sad that once the internship ends, we’ll have to return to school.”

When they first moved into the apartment, it had only one bed and a set of furniture. But after living there together for so long, the place was full of their memories. She could still remember how
they decorated the room together. Even Qin Ning’s work desk had been assembled by both of them.

Qin Ning said, “We can apply to live off-campus.”

Xie Jing replied, “Forget it. This place is too far from school—it’s not convenient.”

It was drizzling the day they moved back. As Xie Jing wheeled her suitcase down the street, she suddenly heard a cat meowing.

“Qin Ning, look! Isn’t that Little Guai?”

They had been living off-campus during their internship and hadn’t seen Little Guai in a long time. The cat had even gotten a bit chubby.

Qin Ning said, “It’s him.”

Xie Jing had often fed him before. The school had shelters for stray cats, so Little Guai was doing well—his fur looked smooth and shiny.

“Let’s adopt him after graduation.” Xie Jing petted Little Guai’s head and looked up at Qin Ning. “Then we’ll be a family of three.”

Qin Ning said, “Okay.”

Unfortunately, plans never keep up with change. On the day of the exam, Qin Ning was suddenly taken away by a group of people in black. Xie Jing only found out after finishing the exam that Qin Ning
had been taken back to the Fang family.

The head of the Fang family had suddenly died, leaving behind a huge fortune that needed to be divided. As the only bl00d relative, Qin Ning naturally inherited a large share. But the “Miss Fang”
who had been switched with Qin Ning at birth wasn’t willing to let Qin Ning have what should’ve been hers.

So the Fang family split into two sides—one supported Qin Ning inheriting the company shares, while the other supported Miss Fang reclaiming them.

Qin Ning was forced into the family’s power struggle and even changed her surname back to Fang.

Xie Jing didn’t see Qin Ning again until they were about to graduate.

Qin Ning came back for graduation photos and went to the night market with her.

The grilled skewers still tasted the same, the oranges were still sweet, but the feeling from the past was gone.

Xie Jing felt a sour ache in her chest and looked up to ask, “So you’re really not going to grad school with me?”

Qin Ning had missed the exam, while Xie Jing, by some twist of fate, got accepted into their school’s graduate program.

She had never imagined it would turn out this way.

Back then, it was Qin Ning who had wanted to go to grad school.

“I’ll always be with you, Xie Jing.”

Qin Ning pulled her into a hug, gently rubbing her hair. “When you graduate, we’ll get married abroad.”

Let everyone know—they were together.

“But three years is so long…” Xie Jing’s voice was full of insecurity.

To her, it felt like a terrifying thing. She couldn’t even relate to her past self, who had once encouraged Qin Ning to pursue grad school.

Qin Ning said, “I’ll come to visit you often.”

But after that day, Qin Ning became busier, and Xie Jing started her new graduate life.

She moved into the grad student dorm and left Building 211.

Zhou Yan and Chen Yuan weren’t attending the same grad school, so Xie Jing walked into the dorm alone and instantly felt a strong sense of loneliness.

She thought—if she had known it would feel like this, maybe she wouldn’t have gone to grad school.